Means for nebulizing liquids



April 12, 1932. H A. SLITER 1,853,242

MEANS FOR NEBULIZING LIQUIDS Filed Sept. 24, 1930 [N VENTOR E M KW Patented Apr. 12, 1932' PATENT" oFmcE HOWARD A. SLICLER, OF GLENDALE, CALIFORNIA MEANS FOR NEBULIZING LIQUIDS Application filed September 24, 1930. Serial in. 484,052.

My invention relates to nebulizers and like devices of the type in which the fluid is sprayed into a settling chamber wherein the heavier globules are entrained while only a fine air-floated mist escapes for inhalation.

Usual devices of this kind are quite complicated and expensive to manufacture and discard the simple, eflicient and highly standardized principles of standard nebulizers.

It is among the objects of this inventlon to provide a highly etficient, simple and economical device of the class described in which a standard nebulizer may be employed in conjunction with other simple elements to provide a device of the class first mentioned herein.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will appear hereinafter.

I have illustrated the invention by the ac-' companying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation thereof.

Figure 2 is a front view thereof.

Referring to the drawings and the reference numerals appearing thereon: a common type of nebulizer is indicated generally by the numeral 5 and consists of the usual reservoir 6, bulb 7 andspray tube 8; the latter terminating in the usual spray nozzle 9.

A common screw top bottle 10 forms a part of the complete device. This bottle may be of the type commonly used to contain food products and in event of breakage is of course replaced with the minimum effort and y expense.

The salient feature of this invention resides in the member 11 which provides a top closure of the bottle and to hold the nebulizer 6 and a combination nose-and-mouth piece 12 in operative association.

This member is provided in the form of a screw cap detachably secured to the bottle and providing an elongated integral horizontal hollow boss 13. Into one end of this boss the nebulizer tube extends while into the.

other end the piece 12 is frictionally and removably fitted. I

The nebulizer tube after passing into the interior of the hollow boss, which interior is in communication withthe interior of the bottle, is turned slightly so that the direction of the spray is downward and toward the side of the'bottle.

The nose-and-mouth piece begins with a tubular extent 14 fitting frictionally in the boss 13 and flares outwardly forwardly to a triangular cross section, and thus provides at its outer end a triangularopening 14a encompassedby' a triangularlip; various portions of which are indicated at 15, 16, 17 and 18 respectively; That portion of "the ,lip indicated at. 15 is adapted to fit over the bridge of the human nose While portion 18 reposes contiguous to the upper lip of a personapplying the piece over the nose.

By turning the piece into the broken line position the portion 18 may be placed as usual, contiguous to the upper lip while por tions 15, 16 and 1-7 respectively lie contiguous to the chin. Thus this piece may beused to enclose the nose or the mouth as the users desire.- Various lip portions of this piece of course do not fit perfectly against the corresponding portions of theusers face and when the user attempts to breathe air or-nebulized fluid from'the bottle,- a certain amount of atmospheric air may be breathed as well. 1

e A common two piece ferrule 19 is provided around the spray tube whereby the tube is held quite fixedly to the cap and whereby the nebulizer isheld in substantially rigid assem-. bly with the cap. q V

The operation of the device is asfollows. Either before, orafter the piece is applied to the -face,.the bulb is pressedseveral times in quick succession. As the nebulized fluid and 7 air from the spray tip enter theinterior of the bottlethe heavier or larger divisions of the fluid strike against the side of the bottle,

drainingto the bottom, or fall directly to the bottom of the bottle; while the very fine particles of fluid which are capable of being floated by the air, remain in suspension in the air within the bottle. Now by applying the piece to the face some of the air in the bottle may be inhaled together with the extremely fine particles of fluid floating in the air. Continued operation of the bulb results in the generation of an additional mixture of air and finely divided air-floated fluid, and the air pumped into the bottle by the bulb displaces such mixture in small and measured quantity.

The result is that the user is provided with measured quantities, subject to his on control, of the mixture of air'and finely divided fluid. Fluids or oils of a soothing or medicinal property are thus applied to all portions of the pulmonary tract to which the air travels and no excessive fluid, or large globules thereof can possibly reach the mouth, nose, throat or lungs.

The fluid collecting in the bottle is of course saved whereas in common nebulize'rs it is not onlywasted but is a source of discomfortand irritation to the patient. At any suitable time, ifthe fluid'is a relatively nonvolatile oil it may be poured back into the atomizer, and" if the fluid be of avolatile or evaporati-ve nature the act of pumping air into the bottle will result in evaporation-as required.

The advantages of this device, from manufacturing, economic, efficiency and comfort standpoints are now obvious, and while I have showna specific formof device itis to be understood that various changes in construction, arrangement of parts and method of operation maybe resorted to without departing from the spirit of my invention.

1. In a device ofthe class described, a bottle,a cap d'etachably connected toand'closin'g said bottle; a facial piece attached to said cover and communicating with the inter or of said'bottle, and a nebulizer operatively connected to said cap to spray into said bottle in a direction away from the point at which said facial piece communicatedwith said bottle.

2. In a device of the class described, a bottle, a cap d'e'tachably connected to and closing said bottle; a facial piece attached to'said cover'and communicating with the interior of said bottle, and a nebulizer operativelyl connected to said cap to spray into said bottle toward the bottom oi said bottle. 7

'3. In a device ofthe class described, a bottle, 'a cap removably fittedto'the'bottle to practically enclose the interior'thereof, a hollow boss to'said cap, a nebulizer external'to said bottlehaving a spray tube passingthru one end of said boss and directed downwardlyin'saidhottle, and a facial piece fitted at the other end of said boss and communicating thereby with the interior of said bottle.

4:. In a device of the class described, a bottle, a cap removably fitted to the bottle to practically enclose the interior thereof, a hollow boss to said cap, a nebulizer external to said bottle having a spray tube passing thru one end of said boss and directed downwardly in said bottle, and a facial piece fitted at the other end of said boss and communicating thereby with the interior of said bottle, said facial piece adapted to enclose either the mouth or noseofthe user-as desired.

HOWARD A. -'SI)ITER. 

